Filibuster fight adds drama to 'fiscal cliff' talks

Nov. 27, 2012
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada appear outside the White House on Nov. 16 following a meeting with President Obama and leaders from the House. / Jacquelyn Martin, AP

by Susan Davis, USA TODAY

by Susan Davis, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - A brewing side drama between the Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders is testing their relationship as the two navigate tough negotiations on the "fiscal cliff" coming at the end of the year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are engaged in an increasingly heated battle over how and whether to change the chamber's filibuster rules. The fight comes as President Obama and congressional leaders are trying to find a bipartisan way to avert an end-of-year budgetary crisis that will raise taxes and dramatically cut spending unless they act.

McConnell spoke of "how unfortunate it is that the majority leader has chosen to create an extraordinary controversy here in the Senate at a time when we ought to be encouraging maximum bipartisan cooperation."

On the Senate floor, Reid said McConnell personally was a reason change was needed. "Under Leader McConnell, Republican senators have mounted filibusters so much more on a regular basis."

When McConnell was in the majority in 2005, he once sought similar rule changes he now opposes. Likewise, Reid then opposed the rules changes he now supports.

Reid wants to use a procedural loophole that allows a majority leader at the start of a new session of Congress - coming in early January - to change the governing rules of the U.S. Senate to limit the ability to filibuster legislation.

There are many ways to filibuster a bill or nomination - most famously as Jimmy Stewart did in the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington when a senator debates uninterrupted on the floor - but the filibuster can be used in a number of ways to slow down or block legislation moving through the chamber.

Reid has not offered an official proposal, but he wants to eliminate the filibuster used to block debate on a piece of legislation. Proponents of the rule change say it will make the Senate more efficient. Opponents, who call it the "nuclear option," say it will accelerate growing partisanship in the Senate, making it harder to get things done.

Use of the filibuster has risen dramatically in recent years. The Brennan Center for Justice issued a report this month outlining how legislative output has fallen as filibusters have risen. The Senate has passed a record low 2.8% of the bills introduced in the chamber. Senate floor activity devoted to ending filibusters has skyrocketed. On average, it takes 188 days to confirm one judicial nominee.

There is bipartisan frustration with the use of filibusters, but the decision to address the issue now is straining relations at the top just as Washington is being tested to find compromise.

"The last thing on my list would have been to throw a bomb into the Senate, have it blow up and have everybody mad as heck," McConnell said of Reid's efforts to move forward with his plan. "And I hope we can out all this divisiveness behind us and build confidence and relationships on a bipartisan basis."

Reid has said for months he would move forward with the rule change if Democrats retained the majority. This effort was not unexpected. Reid downplayed GOP concerns: "The Senate has repeatedly adjusted its rules as circumstances dictate. We are making simple changes. We're not changing the Constitution."